“Export or Die”; Foreign Trade in the Third Reich

In recent years, a substantial number of publications has enriched our understanding of the economic history of the Third Reich. In particular the history of German companies during the 1930s and 1940s has been examined in much greater detail. Major companies (among others VW, Allianz, Deutsche Bank, Bertelsmann) have opened up their archives to historians — not for the production of self‐glorifying company histories, but for critical analyses of the experience, attitude and policies of the particular company in the Third Reich. It is now possible to draw more detailed and clearer conclusions on the relationship between the Nazi regime and the business community than only twenty years ago. As part of a wider research project on “Foreign Trade in the Third Reich” I draw upon these recent research outcomes and earlier publications, along with my own research on a particularly important sector of the German economy, engineering, to provide an outline analysis of three significant areas: The economic views and policies of leading members of the Nazi regime in general and towards Germany's industrial export sector in particular, the experience (relations to regime, policies, responses) of German companies in the Third Reich in general and of exporters of manufactured products in particular, and, as a case study, the experience of producers and exporters of machinery.     

“I’d Know a False Confession if I Saw One”: A Comparative Study of College Students and Police Investigators

College students and police investigators watched or listened to 10 prison inmates confessing to crimes. Half the confessions were true accounts; half were false—concocted for the study. Consistent with much recent research, students were generally more accurate than police, and accuracy rates were higher among those presented with audiotaped than videotaped confessions. In addition, investigators were significantly more confident in their judgments and also prone to judge confessors guilty. To determine if police accuracy would increase if this guilty response bias were neutralized, participants in a second experiment were specifically informed that half the confessions were true and half were false. This manipulation eliminated the investigator response bias, but it did not increase accuracy or lower confidence. These findings are discussed for what they imply about the post-interrogation risks to innocent suspects who confess.     

Postmortem diagnostics using MSCT and MRI of a lethal streptococcus group A infection at infancy: a case report

Postmortem cross-sectional imaging using multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was considered as a base for a minimal invasive postmortem investigation in forensic medicine such as within the Virtopsy approach. We present the case of a 3-year-old girl with a lethal streptococcus group A infection and the findings of postmortem imaging in this kind of natural death. Postmortem MSCT and MRI revealed an edematous occlusion of the larynx at the level of the vocal cords, severe pneumonia with atelectatic parts of both upper lobes and complete atelectasis of both lower lobes, purulent fluid-filled right main bronchus, enlargement of cervical lymph nodes and pharyngeal tonsils, and additionally, a remaining glossopharyngeal cyst as well as an ureter fissus of the right kidney. All relevant autopsy findings could be obtained and visualized by postmortem imaging and confirmed by histological and microbiological investigations supporting the idea of a minimal invasive autopsy technique.     

Perceiving Self-Interest: Power,Ideology, and Maintenance of the Status Quo

We explore the perception of self-interest based on the social position of the person making a persuasive argument, and whether the argument challenges peoples representation of the social world. More self-interest is perceived when it is made on behalf of a small rather than a large group (Experiment 1), comes from a low status rather than a high status group (Experiment 2), and when it benefits an outgroup more than an ingroup (Experiment 3). We show that attempting to change the political status quo, no matter whose interests it may serve, leads to perceptions of self-interest (Experiment 4). We discuss these findings in terms of beliefs, social ideologies, and attitudes, and argue that perceptions of self-interest are often a marker of the defense of the status quo from perceived threats.     

The Methodology of Contractarianism in Economics

The paper explores the methodology of hypotheticalcontractarianism as a means of justifyingrules of social conduct. Formally, thecontractarian argument has the logicalstructure of a familiardeductive-nomological (rational choice)explanation. It necessarily requires,however, that at least some premises usedin its explanans be empiricallyfalse. It is argued that, in contrast toordinary explanatory arguments, thecontractarian thought experiment would bepointless if all assumptions wereempirically true. As a consequence, even inthe case that a given contract theory canbe proven to be logically consistent, itfails to justify binding obligations ofreal individuals due to an insurmountablelogical problem of induction.     

Suicide by injection of a veterinarian barbiturate euthanasia agent: report of a case and toxicological analysis

The history and toxicological findings of a suicidal case involving injection of a veterinarian barbiturate euthanasia agent (Vetanarcol containing pentobarbital are presented. Blood pentobarbital concentrations compatible with drug overdose were determined. Almost identical levels were found in blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and vitreous humour (VH). The highest concentration was measured in the bile. The present case is compared with similar rare cases in the literature.     

Federalism and Compounded Representation: Key Concepts and Project Overview

Interested in bringing together federalism and political representationas two distinct areas of research in comparative politics, thisedition of Publius: The Journal of Federalism introduces a collaborativeresearch project that raised questions about the impact of institutionalarrangements on strategies for political representation. Definitionsof the project's two key concepts of federalism and compoundedrepresentation are briefly addressed initially. Summaries arepresented of how these two concepts are empirically appliedin the studies by the five scholars presented in this volume.     

Varieties of Sharing. Handlungsorientierungen,Strukturen und Arbeitsbedingungen eines neuartigen Feldes

The paper deals with a segment of the digitization of work: It examines the forms and conditions of work in the so-called sharing economy (SE). Based on the analysis of 67 internet platforms, three segments – the “exchange and gift economy”, the “niche and side job economy” as well as the “platform economy” – are distinguished as separate institutional spheres of the SE. On this basis, five dimensions of work in these segments are comparatively analyzed. It is shown that patterns of work differ among the three segments with view to activity patterns, gratification, qualification requirements, the role of technology and control mechanisms. The paper then discusses a shift in the determinants of work: it is argued that classical factors no longer prevail, but are partly supplemented, partly replaced by “internet communities” and the socio-technical structures and strategies of the platform providers. Not least, the absence of formal employment contracts in platform-user-relationships stands out.